Travel

I don’t think, according to AAA, that today is the busiest of all travel days in the year. That honor goes to one of the days near Thanksgiving. But many, many people are traveling today. Probably not those of us gathered here for worship this morning, or we wouldn’t be here. But we, too, will find our attention drawn to traveling. All of the Scripture readings this morning describe people traveling. All of the readings are full of journeys: real journeys, mythic journeys, metaphorical journeys. In all of them people are moving, traveling from one place to another, on the go.

In the Old Testament reading from Jeremiah, the Lord says, “I will lead them back… I will gather my people from the farthest parts of the earth… They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion… and they shall never languish again.”

The psalm appointed for today is a pilgrimage psalm, to be sung by pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem. The speaker yearns to come to the Lord’s temple. “How dear to me is your dwelling, O Lord of hosts! My soul has a desire and longing for the courts of the Lord… happy are the people whose hearts are set on the pilgrim’s way.”

Both of these readings are festive in tone and celebratory. But they also speak of real physical journeys, and the travel they describe could not have been easy. Jeremiah describes people traveling a great distance, from the farthest nations of the world. Among the travelers are the blind and the lame, those with child and those in labor. Those could not have been easy trips. The psalmist speaks of climbing from height to height. Those are both literal and metaphorical heights. Jerusalem is, indeed, high in the mountains. A pilgrimage there was a toilsome journey.

In Ephesians, it is more a journey of faith that is described. Paul writes: “I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him…” as you travel towards greater knowledge of Christ… “so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints…” May your eyes be enlightened to see the way as you travel towards hope, towards the rich inheritance offered through Christ. A journey promising great reward, but not always easy, the journey that is growth in faith.

And then we have the Gospel, full of travel. On Tuesday as we celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany, we will hear the story of the magi’s journey to the manger in Bethlehem. Consider what an incredible journey that really was. It would have taken a year, a long journey over rough terrain. At the beginning of this morning’s reading they have just left Bethlehem to return home. The Gospel story is the so-called flight into Egypt. It’s hard to know what to make of this story in Matthew. It is in direct contradiction to Luke’s account of Jesus’ birth, where the holy family returns directly to Nazareth. As Matthew tells it, an angel comes to Joseph in a dream and warns him that Herod is literally breathing murder. The holy family flees to Egypt. Our lectionary skips the murder, although Matthew describes how Herod slaughters every young child under the age of two in and around Bethlehem. When that horror has passed, the family is on the move again. Did you hear how often Joseph, “got up, took the child and his mother,” and set off again. Traveling presumable on foot with an infant or toddler. Many of you know the challenges of traveling with young children.

Everyone in these readings is going somewhere, traveling. This isn’t really what I wanted to hear from the Word of God today. I’m tired. The holidays are tiring, even if you don’t travel. I wanted to hear about being home. About being settled. About rest. The readings do promise a journey’s end. But in the future. Today all of God’s people, even the holy family, are still on the road.

I am also very aware, as this secular new year begins, of how anxious and unsettled our world feels. The scenery is changing around us in ways we cannot control and do not welcome. Whether we are moving or not, we are on a journey, one we have not chosen. I would have preferred the Word of the Lord today to offer me a panorama of unchanging stability and security. These readings don’t. For God’s people on the go, the scenery is always changing, the status of the road ahead always unknown.

I really couldn’t make today’s readings say to me what I wanted to hear, and I really tried. There’s a lesson in that. We must listen to the Word of God. Really listen to its voice speaking to us, not just expect Scripture to be a mirror reflecting our own voices back to us. This challenge also illustrates for me the value of a fixed lectionary. As Episcopalians we did not have a choice which Scripture to hear or preach on this Second Sunday of Christmas. We have to deal with these. We are forced to listen to the Word of God.

What does the Word of God say today? To be God’s people is to be on the move. The people of God are travelers. This is a descriptive statement. These readings don’t say that we should be travelers. They say we are. It is inescapable. God’s people are travelers through this earthly life. No place in this world is our final destination. And to cling to stability and security is to be left behind.

In these readings the reasons God’s people travel are different. The Hebrew people travel towards reunion as a people. Dispersed throughout the world, they travel to be reunited with one another. The psalmist is on a pilgrimage to worship, towards union with God in the Lord’s temple. The holy family are fleeing from evil so that in the future they may fulfill God’s higher purpose. All of God’s people are on the move, and none really arrive. As God’s people being travelers is part of our spiritual DNA.

There is a passage in Deuteronomy sometimes called the “creed” of the early Hebrew people. It is recited liturgically to affirm their sense of identity as God’s people. It begins: “A wandering Aramean was my ancestor.” Our heritage is defined by a wanderer. And in John’s gospel, Jesus describes himself as “the way.” The way. Every Sunday we say, “Walk in love, as Christ loved us.” Walk in love. Being travelers is part of our DNA.

Travel is tiring and unsettling and sometimes scary. It always involves change, movement, effort… whether the travel is physical, or spiritual, or psychological. But travel is a part of who we are as God’s people.

There are a few things to hang onto from these lessons as we journey on.

Jeremiah reminds us that as God’s people we will find springs in the desolate places. There will be desolate places in our journeys, but as God’s people, we will be given refreshment and sustenance along the way. We will find springs in the desolate places.

And, as the people of God, we will always have fellow travelers accompanying us. God’s people always travel in packs. We will always have companions to share our burdens, to share our stories, to share our joys.

And part of what today’s Gospel lesson says to me is that God will offer us guidance and protection from danger. We are not promised a world without danger, but we are promised God’s help to avoid the danger and evil that threaten us.

Also, as Christians especially during this season of the incarnation, we are promised that Jesus walks with us. Remember, he was a part of the holy family’s grueling journey. The Word became flesh to share our earthly travels with us.

And we are promised a final destination of joy and peace in God’s kingdom, although we must take that bit on faith. That future lies beyond this life.

Also, especially on this day, I take some comfort in knowing that travel is normal for God’s people. To be on the move is normal. It’s not a trial or a sign of spiritual immaturity. Nor is it an obligation only for the spiritually ambitions. It’s just the way it is for God’s people. It may not always be how I would run my life if I were in charge, but it’s normal.

So today my prayer is not for stability or security or that the landscape of my world will never change (although I still might pray for a little rest along the way.) Today my prayer is that the way, the path, I travel will be Jesus’ way and not some other. I pray that, by God’s grace, I may be delivered from evil as I am on the way. I pray that I will cherish my fellow travelers, God’s people. And finally, I pray that even when I am tired or anxious I will carry on and not get left behind.